After receiving hundreds of video submissions and photos on social media, Global News and the Edmonton Eskimos are proud to premiere Global News All In: One Empire.
The 30-minute special, which captures the game-day experience of hundreds of football fans in Edmonton, will air on Global this Saturday.
“In the big picture, the documentary is something we haven’t really seen before in Canada,” said Global Edmonton sports anchor Kevin Karius, who – along with editor Fred Anderson – produced the piece.
“It’s funny. When you go to a sporting event, all you see are fans on their phones, taking pictures, selfies and videos. Basically the documentary is gathering a whole bunch of video from fans, putting it together to tell the story of what it’s like going to an Eskimos game, and enjoying their game-day experience, whatever that may be.”
Karius came up with the idea for Global News All In after watching a documentary last year called 100,000 Cameras.
“It was about the Michigan-Ohio State football rivalry, one of the biggest in all of sports,” Karius said. “They asked fans to record their game-day experience and made a documentary out of it.
“I thought maybe it would work with the Eskimos. The team was on board, so it went from there.”
Global News asked fans for their help and they showed up in droves, sending in hundreds of videos and pictures of their game-day experience during the home opener on June 22, as the Green and Gold faced off against the Hamilton Tiger-Cats.
From tailgate parties to the experience in the stands at Commonwealth Stadium, Global News All In will feature a wide variety of game-day experiences.
“We received several hundred posts from fans, and incorporated their game-day experiences with some of our camera work, and a little bit of footage from the Eskimos,” Karius explained.
“The hardest part was not knowing what we would receive from fans. We spent hours going through the postings and downloaded the best ones we thought would make the cut.”
Watch below: A lot of hard work went into a special broadcast event called Global News All In, asking fans of the Edmonton Eskimos to document their game-day experience during the home opener. Before the documentary aired, Kevin Karius shared some stories about how it all came together.
Global News also asked a few of the Eskimos to include their families.
“Mike Reilly, Derel Walker, and Kevin Glenn took part. Their family members were great, and it was nice to see them cheering on the Eskimos,” Karius said.
The game didn’t exactly go as planned, Karius said, as the Eskimos were outplayed by Hamilton on home turf.
“It would have been great to have the Eskimos winning, but that was not meant to be, so we had to go a different direction with the storyline.”
You can see how the whole project turned out when the 30-minute special airs at noon on Saturday, July 7. If you can’t watch it live, be sure to set your PVR. The special will be available to watch online after it airs.
Watch below: For the Edmonton Eskimos’ 2018 home opener, Global News asked fans to submit video from their game-day experience for a special documentary. Margeaux Maron takes a look at the making of All In.